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Jazz Articles | Future
Mike Stern: What A Trip
"I never trip. I just don't. But then, it just happened." This is how Mike Stern began his story as he explained to my wife and I how it happened. If you somehow missed it, “it" refers to the tumble Stern took in July of 2016. This accidental fall resulting in both shoulders being shattered. In addition to the broken humerus bones and broken arms, he suffered serious nerve damage in his right arm and right hand.
read moreJeong Lim Yang: Déjà Vu
On her excellent debut record, Déjà Vu, bassist Jeong Lim Yang proves that there's more than one way to make a first impression on a listener. Rather than taking the obvious route with up-tempo workouts or deviously complex compositions, Yang is content to carve out plenty of open space for her music to breathe. Her graceful melodies take shape with subtlety and a quiet assurance that stems both from her skill on her instrument and from the nuanced contributions of ...
read moreVarious Artists: Woody Guthrie - The Tribute Concerts
Tribute concerts are often a mixed bag, especially if the idea is to bring a group of stars together to pay homage to an influential musical figure. The recent tribute to the wonderful singer, Tony Bennett, Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 (Columbia, 2016) is a sad case in point. There is no shortage of stars on that particular album, but the aesthetic understanding of Bennett's music is so limited that it reduces rather than expands the scope of his musical legacy. ...
read moreThe Dan Banks Quintet: Two in a Box
On Two in a Box, British pianist Dan Banks' quintet revisits a Golden Age in jazz when hard bop was king and record labels like Prestige and Blue Note delivered the latest sounds to an astute and appreciative audience. Without mimicry, Banks reimagines the indomitable spirit of such masters as Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, Bobby Timmons, Horace Silver and their peers, while trumpeter Paul Higgs bares his inner Lee Morgan /Donald Byrd / Woody Shaw / Freddie Hubbard and tenor ...
read moreRoscoe Mitchell: Discussions
Saxophonist, composer, supreme improviser and a seminal artist for modern times, Roscoe Mitchell's (AACM, Art Ensemble of Chicago) illimitable inventiveness shines forth on this outing that encompasses a 20-piece orchestra, bridging experimentalism and counterbalancing song forms with nouveau classical music applications. The final piece is seemingly derived from a New Orleans slang expression “Who Dat," which is a mind-bending 22-minute opus. Commencing with somber strings and crosscutting percussion patterns, James Fei's synth articulations signal impressions of nature, paralleling ...
read moreJelly Roll Morton Front and (Lincoln) Center
With a three-night gala celebrating the music of Jelly Roll Morton, the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra marked its 30th season at Rose Hall. Focusing on Morton's pioneer arranging achievements with amplifications of them from Jazz at Lincoln Center performers, the evening offered a penetrating exploration of the Creole legend's multifarious compositional musings and featured a quintet of sparkling piano soloists who recalled his keyboard wizardry.The full breadth and scope of Morton's talents--his multiple syncopations, latin-textured musical voyaging, ...
read moreJazzTM Festival 2017
Mentioned in documents as early as the 11th century and definitely existent in the 13th century, Timişoara is the heart of the Banat--a beautiful and rich Romanian region that has had its share of glory, beauty and hardship. Dan Diaconu, Deputy Mayor of Timisoara Municipality said, “Since its beginning, jazz was defined as a diverse and multicultural musical genre, even before these concepts existed, a continuum mix of people, feelings and music. A festival creates a symbol for ...
read moreGarana Jazz Festival 2017
All About Jazz's Nenad Georgievski wrote this about the 2017 Garana Jazz Festival... “Running from the 6-9th of July, the 21st edition of the Garana Jazz Festival saw the jazz world descend on its location near the Garana village, high in the Semenic Mountains of Romania. Obviously, the artistic credibility and the creative energy were the hallmarks of this year's edition as the festival boasted enormous audience attendance during the four days. This year the festival presented a ...
read moreEddie Daniels and Roger Kellaway: Just Friends: Live at the Village Vanguard
Resonance Records has dramatically improved the respective discographies of Bill Evans (Live At Art D'Lugoff's Top of The Gate (2012), Some Other Time: the Lost Session From the Black Forest (2016), Another Time: The Hilversum Concert (2017)); Wes Montgomery (Echoes of Indiana Avenue (2012), Wes Montgomery: In The Beginning-Early Recordings from 1949-1958 (2015), Smokin' in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse (1966) (2017)); and Gene Harris (Live in London (2008), Another Night In London (2010), Three Sounds: Groovin' Hard -Live at ...
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